Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi claims his close friend Vladimir Putin wants to grant him Russian citizenship and a top political post.

“In Italy, I have been relegated to the sidelines, but Putin has told me he is willing to give me citizenship, and entrust me with running the economy ministry,” La Stampa newspaper quoted Mr Berlusconi as saying at a dinner party.

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“My future? Becoming minister for my friend Putin,” the 78-year-old billionaire reportedly said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said Mr Putin’s offer was more “figurative” than real and was merely a show of support for an old friend.

“Putin and Berlusconi share an old friendship. They keep in touch and this is a true camaraderie,” Mr Peskov said.

“In this case … it should be seen as figurative support rather than a formal offer to take some official post, which, of course, is impossible,” he was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

Mr Berlusconi has been hit by a string of legal woes, most recently being sentenced to three years this month for bribing a senator.

Earlier this year, he completed a community service order for corporate tax fraud but was cleared of having sex with an under-age dancer known as Ruby the Heart-stealer after judges ruled he could not have known she was a minor.

Mr Putin and Mr Berlusconi are longstanding friends and during a visit to Rome by the Russian leader in June, the media tycoon pledged his Forza Italia party would work to lift sanctions on Russia.

They also spent a weekend in Russia’s picturesque Altai mountains together.

Two years ago, France’s larger-than-life actor Gerard Depardieu befriended Mr Putin and was given a Russian passport after criticising taxes on top earners in France.

Proof of the Putin, Berlusconi bromance